You & Me & A Recorder
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and thirty-five: Bon Jovi 2/7 The assignment was a musical memory, and Mike has finally found one, thanks to his brother, and Brittany.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th cycle. Now cycle 12!_

_So I've been wanting to do an artist showcase for a while, and then a few weeks ago a friend had a whole lot of Bon Jovi CDs in her car and I went "That is perfect!" So I chose seven songs, and… Here we go!_  
**2 of 7: "Bed of Roses"**

* * *

**"You and Me and a Recorder"  
Mike, Mike/Brittany**

The assignment had been put to the club after Rachel had presented a piece inspired by a musical memory, a song she would get excited for every time it would come on the radio, especially in car rides. So Mr. Schuester had told the rest of them to do the same, to find and present a song tied to one specific memory, be it one day, or one period.

Mike had gone home, thinking about this. The more time passed without a single memory coming to him, the more he wondered if such a memory existed. He arrived to an empty home and a note from his mother saying that she and Joey would be home soon. He'd gone and laid out on the couch, hoping a relaxed pose would open up his mind and let out any memory that may have been hidden back there.

He must have dozed off. The next thing he knew he was being woken up by his mother.

"Long day?" she asked. He shrugged as he sat up. "Well, come on, you can help me with dinner," she headed into the kitchen and he followed. Joey was sitting at the kitchen table, taking something out of his bag.

"Hey, Jo-Jo," Mike patted at his head on the way to the counter, where his mother had him chopping vegetables. After a moment, he heard…

"Look," Joey called. Mike turned, seeing his little brother wave a plastic recorder about. "We're learning how to play."

"Cool," Mike nodded, which got a laugh out of his mother. He turned back to her. "What?"

"You didn't find it so 'cool' when you had to learn it." Mike frowned, not remembering… remembering… He looked to Joey with his recorder, then back to his mother… She had a way of holding on to old works and books from his and Joey's school years… Maybe he could find it… When he'd finished with the chopping, he was 'freed,' so he went up to the attic, finding Joey and the plastic recorder in tow.

"What are you looking for?" Joey asked, sitting on the ground as Mike looked for the right box. When he got hold of one which seemed right, he brought it over and sat with his brother. Joey watched him dig through it, quiet as was his usual.

He finally spotted it… the book with the music notes on the cover, which he'd doodled in and around to the point where one was very hard-pressed to find a blank spot… Maybe if he'd paid more attention to the class instead of his book…

He flipped through the pages until he came to the song. It was the one he'd managed to do justice to, and he was fairly certain it had to do with who'd been sitting next to him throughout their practices for it. Their teacher had never looked so utterly lost as when she'd try and get her to follow along, and yet in the end it had been their working together, early mornings in the schoolyard, which had gotten her to finally figure it out, if only for the duration of this one song. It was as good of a memory-with-music as he could hope to find… He wasn't sure if she'd remember too…

He'd rehearsed the song over the next few days. Vague recorder memories were one thing, vocal performance was a whole other thing. He came out feeling satisfied and anxious to perform. The day came, and eventually so did Mike's turn. He got up, and he held up the old book, turned to the page already. As he held it up, he explained…

"I never cared for the class, except for this one time. I had spent time working on it with a friend," his eyes flickered toward Brittany for a second. "I didn't actually hear it until much later, and I didn't even realize it until now, but whenever I'd hear it… I still hear the recorder…"

"Alright, let's hear it," Will gave a nod and Mike took his seat on the stool, facing toward the others but with a clear look toward her.

_[Mi] "Sitting here wasted and wounded / At this old piano / Trying hard to capture / The moment this morning I don't know / 'Cause a bottle of vodka / Is still lodged in my head / And some blonde gave me nightmares / I think that she's still in my bed / As I dream about movies / They won't make of me when I'm dead_

_With an ironclad fist I wake up and / French kiss the morning / While some marching band keeps / Its own beat in my head / While we're talking / About all of the things that I long to believe / About love and the truth and / What you mean to me / And the truth is baby you're all that I need_

_I want to lay you down in a bed of roses / For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails / I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is / And lay you down on a bed of roses"_

Midway through the song, he could see the hint of a smile creeping up over her face… He didn't know if it was because she liked the song, if she realized he couldn't help looking at her, or if she remembered the class… or all three of those. Either way, it powered him on.

_[Mi] "Well I'm so far away / That each step that I take is on my way home / A king's ransom in dimes I'd given each night / Just to see through this payphone / Still I run out of time / Or it's hard to get through / Till the bird on the wire flies me back to you / I'll just close my eyes and whisper, / Baby blind love is true_

_I want to lay you down in a bed of roses / For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails / I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is / And lay you down on a bed of roses_

_Well this hotel bar hangover whiskey's gone dry / The barkeeper's wig's crooked / And she's giving me the eye / I might have said yeah / But I laughed so hard I think I died_

_Now as you close your eyes / Know I'll be thinking about you / While my mistress she calls me / To stand in her spotlight again / Tonight I won't be alone / But you know that don't / Mean I'm not lonely I've got nothing to prove / For it's you that I'd die to defend_

_I want to lay you down in a bed of roses / For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails / I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is / And lay you down…_

_I want to lay you down in a bed of roses / For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails / I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is / And lay you down on a bed of roses"_

He finished and the others applauded. He went back to sit with them, just behind Brittany. As the next one went up, Mike felt the book slip out of his hand. He looked down and saw Brittany had grasped it, looking at the pages, scribbles and all. She observed it for a while, returned it with a knowing smirk. He smiled back… He might never have been reminded of this memory, and it might have faded further back. Now it was back, and wasn't letting go.

THE END


End file.
